


I can't help myself, I fall

by trainerrei



Category: One Piece
Genre: Crushes, F/M, Gen, Scars, childhood crushes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-02 19:46:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2823884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trainerrei/pseuds/trainerrei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short stories about the relationship between Baby 5 and Gladius.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This pairing came out of left field and I just really liked it so I wanted to do some background stuff for it. This is really short but I'll probably expand on it later.  
> edit: the underage is just a precaution since the next chapter has something small when baby is 17  
> 3/11/16 - went back and tried to edit this story

She breathed heavily against the ground, her vision blurring and her conscious fading.

The sounds around her were much louder than they were supposed to be. It was only supposed to be a few crashes maybe some gunshots, not the barrage of screams, shots, and explosions she was currently hearing. Her body hurt and she could feel the wound on her stomach bleeding. The blood soaking through her dress and into the ground on which she lay.

A bomb had gone off too close to the group as they had walked through the city streets, making their way to the enemy’s hideout. The dark haired girl had jumped to action since she was the closest one to the young master and had protected Doflamingo by using her body as a shield.

Baby stared through foggy eyes at the fight happening in front of her. It looked like she had been the only one hurt and that made her happy in a way. “At least I helped when they needed me,” she thought to herself, laughing a little.

The last thing she saw was a pair of black boots stopping a mere inches from her face. “Oh, Gladius,” she smiled. “Maybe he’ll end the pain.”

* * *

 

She woke up in her bed. The soft covers felt nice against her calloused hands, it was more familiar than almost anything else. “Was that a dream?” She mumbled the words to herself.

She turned her head to the side and saw the IV coming out of her arm and knew what she had done. No, she had not dreamed of the surprise attack or her injury. Yes, she had lain bleeding in the streets. She went to sit up but a sharp pain shot up her abdomen causing her to cry out. She clutched her stomach, panting and hoping to relieve the pain.

“Don’t move.”

Baby quickly looked towards the source of the voice, knowing they were standing by the door and already knowing the owner of the voice. “Gladius!”

The twenty year old male walked to the bed and plopped down in the chair beside it. “How are you feeling?” He asked, crossing his arms.

The girl smiled, “Good! Except for my stomach hurts when I move.”

“That’s why I told you not to move,” he said plainly. “I need you to take your shirt off. Let me see the wound.”

Baby perked up at the word need and quickly took her shirt off. She held it over her chest but still shivered at the cold air. Gladius scooted closer and peeled the bandages and tape from around her chest and waist, his fingers cold as the prodded the wound.

She looked down to see her skin stretched taut making it shiny and a strange shade of pink. Stitches were still plainly visible in certain places. It made her a bit nauseous to look at it so she averted her eyes and watched the man’s face instead. She could barely make out his eyes from behind the dark goggles he wore and he was to focused on her wound to notice her staring. Her eyes studied what skin she could see, pausing on the newest scar on his temple and the crease in his brow. He was starting to look older than he was. Finding nothing else knew she focused back on the feeling of him examining her wound

She couldn't help but think it was strange of Gladius to help her. He was so strict with her and the others, usually giving no thought to their well being or feelings. She did not know Gladius could be kind or anything other than mean. It was… nice to see him act like this.

“So,” she dragged out the word. “How does it look?”

Gladius sat back. “It’s healing well,” his voice softened just the slightest amount and Baby was in awe. To someone who did not know the man he would sound the same, harsh and unforgiving, but after the years they spent on the same crew Baby noticed... “Though after this long it should be almost completely healed. You’ll need to stay in bed until one of the others say you can leave.”

“Okay,” she slipped her shirt on over her head and smiled up at the man. “Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me, thank the young master,” Gladius sat still for a moment, almost like he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave, then pushed himself up off the chair and to his feet. He walked to the door and opened it before looking back. His voice was almost kind when he spoke again. “Get some rest, Baby.”

The door closed with a loud click behind him and Baby was left alone again.

She stared at the door, wondering why Gladius had done that for her. He had never bothered to check on her before but then again she had never almost died before. She smiled wider and laughed giddily as she slid back under the covers, enjoying the warmth and comfort. Her hand gripped at the pillow and she giggled again as a blush spread across her face. She turned and buried her face in the pillow to hide it.

Nothing hurt as much now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paperwork can be tiring.

Baby had never seen Gladius look so harmless.

She had brought the man a drink, black coffee with a little sugar and three ice cubes, to help him stay awake as he finished his work. It had become almost a ritual, one she looked forward to. However, when she opened the door she stopped dead in her tracks. He had his arms crossed and his chin pressed against his chest as he slumped in his chair. For a moment she wondered if he was dead.

She gently closed the door behind her, tray balanced in one hand, and made her way across the room. Stopping beside the desk, she was curious if he was asleep or just taking a break.

"Gladius?" Baby said softly, setting the tray down on the desk. No reply. 

Ever the curious person, Baby looked over the papers on the desk but nothing caught her eye. "How does anyone deal with this stuff," she ran a finger over the page, feeling the dents the words made.

Turning around, Baby stared at the man for a moment. She debated waking him up but, honestly, didn't want to. He looked peaceful, kind. "Weird," she laughed a little.

She leaned against the desk and stared at him, deciding to wake him in a few minutes. She knew he needed rest, all the officers did, and also knew the wonders of power naps. If all else failed and he fell behind, she would offer to do his work to help catch him up.

Then a thought formed in her mind and possessed her. Baby bit her lip, shaking her head to dispel the thought. "He'd kill me," she mumbled to herself, her hand moving despite her words. Her fingers danced along the edge of his mask, looking for the easiest way to pull it down.

Gladius grumbled and Baby's hands froze.

He crossed his arms tighter across his chest and wiggled his nose but stayed asleep.

Baby breathed a sigh of relief and debated stopping but she was too far to turn back. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and gently peeled the mask down. When there were no repercussions she opened her eyes and her breath caught in her throat.

Scars crisscrossed over Gladius' lips, stark white standing out against the dark pigment of his skin.

Automatically, the girl reached out and gently ran a finger along one of the prominent scars. The skin was surprisingly soft and was even lighter than her own. "Those must have hurt," she thought as she began breathing again.

"What are you doing?" The words startled her almost as much as the sudden movement of skin beneath her fingertips and she brought her hand back quickly, holding it against her chest like she was burned.

Baby tried to back away from the now awake man but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. The leather of his gloves and coat was warm against her skin and she blushed, making it feel even warmer.

"You going to answer me?" Gladius asked. Baby looked up afraid that he was going to explode but, thankfully, saw that he was calm.

"Well, I was bringing you a drink and..." She didn't know what else to say.

"Is that so?" His gripped tightened on her wrist, his other hand coming up to lightly grip her chin. "Where you going to force me to drink it? Is that why my mask if off?"

"N-no!" Baby tried to wiggle away but the man only pulled her closer. So close she was practically on his lap, her torso pressed against his. "I was just-"

"Just what? Why are you blushing?"

"I don't know," Baby, unable to move her head, closed her eyes. Gladius let go of her chin and she tensed up, preparing for the worst.

She felt a leather clad finger rub against her lips and her eyes shot open just in time to see something surprising.

The man had leaned forward just enough to press their lips together. It wasn't a hard kiss, more chaste than anything, but it was enough to set her blood on fire.

"W-what?" She blushed when he pulled back.

"Thank you for the coffee," Gladius helped Baby off his lap and turned her so she would leave. The teen grabbed the tray, dashing out of the room. Her heels clicked against the floor, and the door shut behind her with a loud clang.

Baby leaned against the wall, breathing heavy with the tray held close against her chest. One hand gently touched her lips where Gladius had just done the same.

"Hey, Baby!"

Her head snapped to the side to look at the source of the voice. Dellinger was half running, half skipping towards her. She relaxed slightly as the boy stopped beside her and tugged on her sleeve.

"Come play with me in the garden!" He smiled up at her. It was late and she really should have put the boy to bed, but she'd never been able to say no to Dellinger.

She smiled back and let him drag her outside, only looking back once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby is 17 in this and Gladius is 26.  
> 1/29/15 - I went back and tried to edit these chapters but I'm not the best at it so I don't know if it helped.  
> 3/11/16 - guess who went back and tried to edit these things again? it me! guess who doesn't know if it helped?? also me!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just your standard fluff for Valentine's Day

It started after Corazon died.  


Most of the family was affected by it, even if it was in the slightest way. Doflamingo smiled less and less, most wouldn't notice but they all did, and it took months for him to smile in the same way as before. The executives and other adults snapped more often and were crueler to new recruits. They thought that if their captain's own flesh and blood had betrayed them than anyone could. Buffalo slowly became crueler along with the adults.  


Gladius couldn't sleep at night. Despite his harsh nature, he had never been good with blood or gore and the fight with the Heart Executive had provided all that and more. Baby 5... well, Baby hid what was wrong with her. She wanted people to need her but she did not want to need people. She would be a burden, a problem, useless and that was something she couldn't allow. The girl lost sleep and cried much more easily but she could not let the others know.  


Most nights, the two just sat in their respective rooms doing whatever they could find. Gladius read, did some paperwork, but mostly just sat alone in his thoughts. Sometimes he wandered the halls of their current home but that didn't happen often. Baby tried to learn more, as she had never been to school, but she mostly sang. She sang to the birds that would fly first thing in the morning, to the flowers on the balcony, to herself...  


Today, she was singing quietly as she walked the hallway from her room to the bathroom. She had been up for about twenty minutes but no one else would be awake for a good four hours. She locked the door behind her and washed her face with cold water. Staring in the mirror, she noted the dark circles forming under her eyes and gently touched them, singing all the while. A sigh escaped her lips as she finished the chorus and she opened the door.  


Her face met with someone's chest.  


Baby stumbled back slightly, holding her nose, afraid of it bleeding.  


"What are you doing up this late, Baby?"  


She looked up at the blue haired man, "Couldn't sleep." She blushed, embarrassed that she had been caught wandering.  


"You were singing," Gladius stated like it wasn't the most obvious thing. Baby's blush darkened and spread across her face and down her neck. She bit her lip and started to apologize before he cut her off. "You aren't bad."  


"T-thank you," the teen stammered the words out and bowed slightly, almost hitting Gladius again.  


The man studied her for a moment. "I can't sleep either," he sounded a little angry. "But you should try and get some rest." With that he turned heel and went towards his room.  


Baby blinked slowly, watching him until he was about halfway down the hallway before following him. It would be a nice change of pace to her normal routine to talk to someone else at night. They talked often during the day so this wouldn't be any different right?  


She followed him to his room, her bare feet padding softly against the marble floor. Gladius was wearing shoes and the heels clicked quietly as he walked. Opening his door, he glanced back at her, "Didn't I tell you to go to sleep?"  


"I just woke up so I won't sleep anymore tonight."  


Gladius seemed to be thinking her reply over before entering his room. For a moment Baby thought that he was going to slam the door in her face but it remained open. Taking that as an invitation, she followed him inside, gently closing the door behind her.  


Gladius was seated at a desk in the corner with his back turned to her, the only light in the room coming from the lamp burning beside his head. Seeing no other chair, Baby climbed onto the bed and sat near the pillows and just watched him work. He stayed silent as ever except for when he let out a heavy sigh and removed his goggles, rubbing his eyes.  


"Are you tired?" She asked, her head resting in her hands with her elbows on her knees.  


"Of course, I am," He all but snapped. Baby didn't think anything of it. She knew him as well as anyone else if not better.  


"Come here. I'll sing to you."  


"What?" She felt his gaze on her as she smiled and patted her lap. She had moved a pillow over her lap so he could rest more comfortably.  


"I said I'll sing," she continued patting the pillows. He needed her to help him and she would do what she could. "I heard that singing can help people sleep so why not? You have nothing better to do."  


The blue haired man thought about it a second before he remembered that he hadn't eaten or slept properly in days. "Fine," He huffed. Pushing his chair back and standing up in fluid motion, he walked across the room before flopping down on the bed. His head fit perfectly on her lap and her small hand dropped to gently stroke his hair and forehead...  


The song she sang started out off soft and relaxing but then got louder and had more emotion.  


He had to admit, she did have a nice voice. It was a little high but it was calming despite that. The song she sang was one she must have learned in honor of their plans for Dressrosa as it was in a language he did not fully understand. Her small hand was soft against his skin and the feeling was relaxing. He slowly felt himself drifting off.  


"Gladius," Baby whispered when she had finished her song. There was no reply and she smiled. Her own eyes suddenly felt itchy and her eyelids heavy. Small fists rubbed them as a yawn escaped her mouth.  


Laying back against the other pillows and the headboard, she could sleep without moving the much heavier man. Her eyes fluttered close as she slowly stopped stroking his hair, her hand falling to the side.  


"Goodnight."


End file.
